Conventionally, cables which are present in the same area of a vehicle are bundled together at spaced apart locations to prevent tangling and for aesthetic purposes. For example, it is desired in an automobile to bundle the throttle cable, the kick-down cable and the speed control cable together inasmuch as they are all present in about the same location, these cables extending from the vehicle firewall or floor area into the engine compartment. These cables are of the type, for example, operating on the Bowden principle and function as mechanical actuators. In the past, cable bundling has been accomplished by use of conventional tie straps of the type employing a plastic band which is tightened around the cables. Such tie straps have been effective in operation. However, tie straps suffer the disadvantage of requiring what is, by today's standards, an inordinate amount of labor to install. It is necessary for the assembler to first mount the strap and then tighten the strap tightly in place. Finally, he must clip off the excess portion of the strap. Further, tie straps do not result in bundling cables in a parallel relationship.
In accordance with the present invention, a cable bundler clip is provided which employs a simple latching mechanism, thus permitting rapid installation with a minimum amount of labor. The cable bundler clip is provided with discrete recesses for reception of individual cables thus permitting the cables to be arranged in parallel relationship. The cable bundler is further advantageous in that it will effectively and securely enclose either two or three cables in a bundle. Prior art bundling clamps have been proposed such as the clamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,754. However, such clamps have not provided for securely bundling together a number of cables less than the number of cables for which the clamp is designed.
The present invention is also advantageous in that it is constructed to be of a minimum size thus avoiding a bulky appearance and saving space as well as the materials of fabrication. The cable bundler clip of the present invention results in the desired parallel arrangement of the cables with a resultant attractive appearance. The cable bundler clip also results in frictionally engaging the cables in a manner to prevent sliding of the clip along the length of the cables, this being true whether two or three cables are bundled.